Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann today said that a criminal from Uttar Pradesh was lodged in Ropar jail with facilities and was not produced despite 48 warrants issued against him.
In a series of tweets, the Chief Minister said that to save the criminal, expensive lawyers were made from the state government’s account and a burden of Rs 55 lakh was put on the exchequer. “I have returned the file containing the expenditure from the people’s taxes, the tradition of recovering the expenses from the ministers on whose orders this decision has been taken is being considered,” he said.
A police probe conducted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had revealed that gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was lodged in ropar jail for two years and three months from January 2019 to April 2021. Captain Amarinder Singh was the Chief Minister of Punjab at that time.
The inquiry conducted by an ADGP-rank officer has recommended action against some jail officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly taking bribe and keeping them in Ropar jail.
The AAP government had ordered an inquiry last year. Mann today said 48 warrants were issued against him so that he could be sent to Uttar Pradesh but to no avail.